Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka on Wednesday claimed that Peter Obi did not win the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
Soyinka further stated that the leadership of the Labour Party (LP) knows that Obi did not win the election and is trying to force their lies on others.
The Nobel laureate stated this while speaking at an event titled “The Lives of Wole Soyinka — A Dialogue” organised by Africa in the World.
The event took place on Wednesday in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
While speaking at the event, Soyinka was asked to react to his comment against Datti Baba-Ahmed, LP vice-presidential candidate, after the general election.
Soyinka said the truth matters to him, noting that many people always look for shortcuts.
The Nobel laureate said he was armed with facts when he invaded a radio station in Ibadan in 1965.
He added that he was not relying on “third-hand information” about the result of the 1965 regional election.
Peter Obi Did Not Win 2023 Presidential Election – Wole SoyinkaPublished 4 hours ago on 13 September 2023By Enioluwa Adeniyi
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Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka on Wednesday claimed that Peter Obi did not win the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
Soyinka further stated that the leadership of the Labour Party (LP) knows that Obi did not win the election and is trying to force their lies on others.
The Nobel laureate stated this while speaking at an event titled “The Lives of Wole Soyinka — A Dialogue” organised by Africa in the World.
The event took place on Wednesday in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
While speaking at the event, Soyinka was asked to react to his comment against Datti Baba-Ahmed, LP vice-presidential candidate, after the general election.
Soyinka said the truth matters to him, noting that many people always look for shortcuts.
The Nobel laureate said he was armed with facts when he invaded a radio station in Ibadan in 1965.
He added that he was not relying on “third-hand information” about the result of the 1965 regional election.
Soyinka accused the LP of taking over the organised labour movement in the build-up to the 2023 election.
He noted that Obi achieved “something remarkable” by breaking the monopoly of power established by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Soyinka said, “This recent election – two things happened first of all. One party took over the labour movement, which is not my favourite movement, and then it became a regional party.
“Whereas it was a marvellous breach into the established two camps. Peter Obi achieved something remarkable there, that he broke that mould. However, he did not win the election.
“I can say categorically that Peter Obi’s party came third not even second and the leadership knew it but they want to do what we call in Yoruba ‘gbajue’, that is a force of lies.
“They were going to send some of the hardliners, proud young people into the street to demonstrate.